Learning how to tig aluminum first

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heres my first attempt at aluminum, well tig acually. I watched a guy i work with run a pass and "coach" me. capped a 3.5" pipe. I think it came out ok. Glad i baught my syncrowave.
Reply:Better than my first try! NiceMiller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:Yeah not bad, try spending a few minutes cleaning your material and you will be a lot happier with your results...  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:I think you need more amps. The weld looks cold.FYI. Round surfaces like pipe are some of the hardest shapes to weld well. When learning the basics, it's generally best to work with straight flat joints. Things are complicated enough as it is, but trying to toss a constantly changing weld angle into the mix just complicates things needlessly. I'm betting part of the weld issues are because of the shape of the tube..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:dbl postLast edited by fdcmiami; 07-14-2012 at 10:58 AM.Reason: dbl post
Reply:is that a cast aluminum cap?  that would add another level of difficulty.
Reply:With cast I like to skim the surface off with 80 grit sander.....seems to work better for me  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWI think you need more amps. The weld looks cold.FYI. Round surfaces like pipe are some of the hardest shapes to weld well. When learning the basics, it's generally best to work with straight flat joints. Things are complicated enough as it is, but trying to toss a constantly changing weld angle into the mix just complicates things needlessly. I'm betting part of the weld issues are because of the shape of the tube.
Reply:Very good!If everyone had a coach, the learning curve would be so short. Setup and prep are the key ingredients. You got a nice start, now you just need another 1000 hours.I don't know why beginners can't start with alum first. I did because the job was only thinwall alum. Getting the hang of that made all of the others easy. In fact my shop of 6 weldors agrees with me that alum is easier than steel. Of course they had to jump on alum anyway since that is mainly what I do.Report back and tell us how you feel about tigging steel campared to alum.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:yeah I wish I had an "OLD FART" looking over my shoulder 47 years ago.....lmao!  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:I learned how to weld on aluminum...that's the way to go, everything else is downhill from there it seemed like.
Reply:Learning to tig on aluminum and mostly on 1" sch40 pipe but I have a good teacher watching over me. He keeps telling me boy you need to learn on steel first but I do not care about steel and just want to do al. Not sure I have done it with out him.